The Arrival of Haiba Lev (OVA)
!|Riēfu Kenzan}} aired on November 9, 2014 at the annual anime exposition sponsored by Shueisha, Jump Festa. It was also included in a limited edition DVD release of Haikyū!!, along with the 15th edition of the manga, to be shipped March 4, 2015. The event anime will tell an original story that reveals "a surprising side of a popular player." Overview The episode follows the progress of Lev Haiba, a first-year Middle Blocker who aspires to become Nekoma's ace. Plot The episode begins with a mysterious figure in a Nekoma uniform following an orange cat down an alley and quickly follows it around a corner right as Tetsurō Kuroo and Kenma Kozume walk past on their way to volleyball practice, discussing video games, their loss at the prelims and the upcoming Spring High Tournament. They enter a gym where the members of the team are present and getting things set up for the morning practice with the exception of their newest member, Lev Haiba. Morisuke Yaku recalls telling the new addition that the first years should always be early and Taketora Yamamoto adds that without Lev present, it's quiet. Yaku ends the conversation by comparing Lev's behavior to that of a stray cat's. Lev arrives at practice late, the orange cat in his hands, and his teammates reprimand him for his tardiness. During the practice, Coach Naoi sees how the team seems to be more lively than usual. Yamamoto spikes and Lev fails to receive, earning him a scolding from the ace. Naoi comments how Lev's half-Russian heritage gives him great height, phsycial ability and limb length that would easily put him above any Japanese person but his inexperience as a player still shows and puts him behind others, as seen when Lev is able to receive Inuoka's serve but is so distracted by his accomplishment that he does not get up in time to block Yamamoto's spike. Both coaches then watch as Lev fails to make a spike and Kenma refusing to give another set to him, saying that Lev will just miss again. After the practice, Coach Yasufumi Nekomata reveals that they have invited Kunihira Senior High to a practice match in a few days. The team seems puzzled by this as Yaku points out the Fukurōdani training camp will soon be taking place and having a practice match so soon is unusual. Nekomata then states that he wants Lev to take place in the match, completely shocking the team. Lev is ecstatic at hearing he will be playing in a game until Naoi points out that Lev is still having trouble syncing to tosses. Nekomata offers a solution by having Kenma pair up with Lev and help him adjust to tosses. Kenma does not seem interested, calling the task impossible. Nekomata dismisses the meeting and is questioned by Naoi of why he wants Lev to be in the match when Inuoka is a capable player and had even stopped Shōyō Hinata's quick attack. Naoi believes keeping Inuoka is the safer choice. Though Nekomata agrees that Inuoka is a talented player, playing things safe is not what the team needs in order to move forward with the spring tournament so close. During their practice, Kenma continues to take note of Lev's jumping point, jumping height and the size of his backswing. Despite being given a perfect toss, Lev misses and the ball bounces off his head. He tries to play it off as an attack he made up but no one believes him. After practice, Kuroo and Kenma are sitting outside of a convenience store as Kuroo mentions how Kenma seems to be having quite a time helping Lev. Kenma reveals that he hasn't interacted with Lev much since he joined the team and Kuroo compares the two to being like oil and water. They are soon joined by Yaku, Inuoka, Yamamoto and Lev. They begin discussing the upcoming match and Lev mentions how he wants to work as hard as he can with Kenma in order to become the team ace. Yamamoto is instantly annoyed with Lev's determination to become the ace, claiming that someone who cannot receive and defend properly cannot be the ace. Kenma states that he cannot easily sync up with Lev and his erratic plays, saying that he is nothing like Karasuno's setter. Lev questions who Karasuno is and is told about how the team recently played against their 'destined rival' in the Trashcan Showdown. Yaku tells him about Karasuno's tiny middle blocker who can spike with his eyes closed and their genius setter who matches his sets to the spiker perfectly. Though Lev seems impressed by this knowledge, Yaku continues to point out that Hinata was a tiny player who also lacked a grip on the basics. Lev then makes the mistake of questioning if Karasuno's tiny middle blocker is shorter than Yaku. The libero quickly becomes enraged and hits Lev while Yamamoto mentally chastises the first year for bringing up Yaku's height; a known taboo subject. Despite this, Lev says that if someone like the tiny middle blocker can be a regular than he can as well until Kenma says that Lev is not as good a player as Hinata while Kuroo wonders what the Karasuno team is up to at the moment. Ryūnosuke Tanaka is seen sitting outside of the Sakanoshita Store, playing the same video game that Kenma is playing. His teammates soon join him and offer to help with the game after seeing that he is unable to beat the current level. They pass the console around, each attempting to beat the game with different methods that relate to their personal volleyball playing styles and failing. Lev arrives at practice early the next morning, surprising Yamamoto who claims Lev is never the first to arrive. Lev becomes enthusiastic to see Kenma and asks for tosses, saying that he has to become the ace in the next week. During practice, Kenma gives Lev several tosses at different speeds but Lev fails to hit any. On the train going home, Kuroo listens to Kenma's complaints about Lev. Though Kuroo finds it amusing watching Lev, Kenma admits that he has no idea what kind of tosses to set to him because Lev's playing style does not seem to have any pattern. Kuroo changes the subject when he sees Kenma is having trouble beating the current level of his video game and points out a crucial detail of the stage boss that Kenma missed. He also remarks that Kenma looses sight of his surroundings if he is fired up, to which a frowning Kenma adamantly denies. At practice, Lev still does not know how to sync with Kenma's tosses nor does Kenma know how to toss to Lev because his jump fluctuates so randomly. Lev feels that he and Kenma are starting to sync up but becomes horrified when Yamamoto points out Kenma is just getting annoyed and Kenma confirms he's a little upset with Lev. Naoi continues to worry that Lev and Kenma are not syncing together but Nekomata sees otherwise. The scene cuts to the team jogging, when Kuroo announces that he and the rest of the team will go on ahead; leaving Kenma and Lev to jog behind. Kenma offers Lev the chance to keep up with the rest of the team but Lev denies the offer, instead saying that he wants to work as hard as he can to match up with the setter. The two stop when they hear a cat and Lev spots the same cat he had caught earlier stuck in a tree. He goes over to get the cat down as Kenma questions if he can even reach the tall branch. Lev says it will not be a problem and jumps to reach for the cat only for it to become startled and scratch at his hand. Kenma is surprised at seeing that Lev could reach the cat without a run up despite it being significantly higher while they are on a downward slanted hill. He advises Lev not to try the same thing again as it will only result with him getting scratched more. Lev refuses to leave the cat in this predicament and Kenma grudgingly realizes what will need to be done. Lev carries Kenma on his shoulders and they begin trying to lure the cat down. At seeing the cat is still on edge, Kenma instantly wants to give up. Lev wants to continue to try to help but is unsuccessful in trying to change Kenma's mind. As they continue to bicker, a strong gust of wind blows through with enough force that the cat looses its grip on the tree branch and falls. Panicked, Kenma reaches out to try to catch it and becomes incredibly terrified when he barely misses. To his relief, Lev is able to catch the cat with one hand though it right away struggles and causes Lev to lose his balance, resulting in them being knocked over. The cat hurries off and Lev checks on Kenma. Though Kenma seems annoyed and both have a nosebleed, they seem to laugh it off right as their team arrives from having searched for them when they did not catch up. The two quickly rejoin their team and are questioned when Yaku notices their nosebleeds. Kenma simply states that it's Lev's fault, causing Yamamoto to believe that they were fighting and hits Lev for thinking he injured their setter. Before their match with Kunihara, Lev continues to fail to spike Kenma's tosses though he is noticibly getting closer to accomplishing it. Naoi is about to stop their practice but is halted by Nekomata. As they prepare for one more set, Kenma comes to the realization that Lev reminds him of Hinata. At this thought, Kenma jumps when he does the set and tosses when Lev jumps. The height of the set and Lev's jump astonishes the team and they watch as Lev is finally able to land a powerful spike. Lev is incredibly happy at having spiked at last and asks Kenma for another, though he is unable to repeat his previous spike. Yamamoto laughs and says the previous spike was just a fluke before Inuoka declares that he will not lose to Lev and asks Kenma for a set. Yamamoto quickly states that the senpai should get the set first and hurries over to get the next one as Lev argues that this practice is for him. Nekomata seems pleased that the new blood in Nekoma's veins is starting to circulate. The Kunihira High volleyball team arrives and Kuroo recites the team mantra before they begin the game. Lev seems confused about what the mantra is for and Kenma points out that he and Lev finally have something in common. After the credits, Tobio Kageyama is seen to lose yet another round of the video game. Kei Tsukishima and Tadashi Yamaguchi show up, mocking him for his lack of skill in areas other than volleyball. Enraged, Tobio suggests that they try to win the level instead. Shōyō reminds him that it was his turn, and they bicker until Tobio drops the console, breaking it. The OVA ends with Coach Ukai yelling at them to go home. Debut Characters *Nekoma High Boys' Volleyball Club **Lev Haiba Appearances Characters * Nekoma High Boys' Volleyball Club ** Kenma Kozume ** Tetsurō Kuroo ** Sō Inuoka ** Yūki Shibayama ** Taketora Yamamoto ** Morisuke Yaku ** Manabu Naoi ** Yasufumi Nekomata ** Nobuyuki Kai ** Shōhei Fukunaga * Karasuno High Boys' Volleyball Club ** Ryūnosuke Tanaka ** Shōyō Hinata ** Asahi Azumane ** Tobio Kageyama ** Daichi Sawamura ** Kōshi Sugawara ** Keishin Ukai ** Yū Nishinoya ** Kei Tsukishima ** Tadashi Yamaguchi Locations * Nekoma High's gym * Nekoma High * In front of Sakanoshita Store, Keishin Ukai's store Episode Notes Character Revelations Trivia * The OVA originally aired November 9, 2014 at Jump Festa 2014. * The episode is bundled with a limited edition DVD release and Volume 15 of the Haikyū!! manga, and was shipped March 4, 2015. * The ending theme is "Hoshi wo Tsukamaete (星をつかまえて)" by Hyuui Ishizaki. * The episode takes place shortly before the Tokyo training camp with Fukurōdani Academy, Ubugawa High, Shinzen High and Karasuno High. * This OVA was not based on a manga chapter. 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